To perform a clean installation of Windows Server 2012, complete the following steps:
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Start the Setup program using one of the following techniques:
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For a new installation, turn on the computer with the Windows Server
2012 distribution media in the computer’s disc drive, and then press any
key when prompted to start Setup from
your media. If you are not prompted to boot from the disc drive, you
might need to select advanced boot options and then boot from media
rather than hard disk, or you might need to change the computer’s
firmware settings to allow booting from media. -
For a clean installation over an existing installation, you can boot
from the distribution media, or you can start the computer and log on
using an account with administrator privileges. When you insert the
Windows Server 2012 distribution media into the computer’s disc drive,
Setup should start automatically. If Setup doesn’t start automatically,
use File Explorer to access the distribution media and then double-tap
or double-click Setup.exe.
Note
When you try to install Windows Server 2012 using a DVD, you might
find that your computer doesn’t recognize the installation media. If the
media is damaged, you’ll need to obtain replacement media. Otherwise,
make sure that the DVD drive is configured as a startup device and that
you are inserting the media into the appropriate DVD drive.
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If you started the computer using the distribution
media, choose your language, time, and currency formats and keyboard
layout when prompted. Only one keyboard layout is available during
installation. If your keyboard language and the language edition of
Windows Server 2012 you are installing are different, you might see
unexpected characters as you type. Be sure that you select the correct
keyboard language to avoid this. When you are ready to continue with the
installation, tap or click Next. -
On the next Setup page, note that you have several options:
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Install Now By tapping or clicking Install Now, you can start the installation. -
What To Know Before Installing Windows Server 2012
By tapping or clicking What To Know Before Installing Windows Server
2012, you can review helpful information about installing Windows Server
2012.
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If you are starting the installation from
an existing operating system and are connected to a network or the
Internet, choose whether to get updates during the installation. Tap or
click either Go Online To Get The Latest Updates For Setup or Do Not Get
The Latest Updates For Setup. -
With volume and enterprise licensed editions of Windows Server 2012,
you might not need to provide a product key during installation of the
operating system. With retail editions, however, you’ll be prompted to
enter a product key, and then tap or click Next to continue. Keep the
following in mind:
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When entering the product key, be sure to enter a key for the server
edition you want to install. You don’t need to worry about using the
correct letter case or entering dashes. Setup enters all letters you
type in uppercase. When a dash is needed, Setup enters the dash
automatically. -
On the Type Your Product Key For Activation
page, the Next button is available for tapping or clicking only when
the Product Key box is empty or when you’ve entered all 25 of the
required characters. If you want to enter a product key, you must type
the full product key before the Next button is available for tapping or
clicking. If you don’t want to enter a product key at this time, leave
the Product Key box blank and then tap or click Next. -
The Activate Windows When I’m Online check box is selected by default
to automatically activate the operating system the next time you
connect to the Internet. Windows Server 2012 must be activated within
the first 30 days after installation.
If you don’t activate Windows Server 2012 in the allotted time, you see
an error stating “Your activation period has expired” or that you have a
“non-genuine version of Windows Server 2012 installed.” Windows Server
2012 will then run in a reduced functionality mode. You need to activate
and validate Windows Server 2012 as necessary to resume full
functionality mode.
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If you enter an invalid product key, Setup will continue to display
the Type Your Product Key For Activation page. To let you know there’s a
problem with the product key, Setup displays the following warning in
the lower portion of the page: “Your product key cannot be validated.
Review your product key and make sure you have entered it correctly.”
Before you can continue, you need to change the product key so that it
exactly matches the product key sticker. If you don’t see the
discrepancy causing the problem, you might want to delete the previously
entered product key and then retype the product key. After you re-enter
the product key, tap or click Next to continue. As long as you enter a
valid product key, you’ll continue to the next page. Otherwise, you have
to repeat this step. -
If you did not enter a product key, you’ll then see the warning
prompt, asking whether you want to enter a product key at this time. If
you tap or click Yes, you’ll return to the Type Your Product Key For
Activation page. If you tap or click No, you’ll be allowed to continue
with the installation without entering a product key. -
You need to choose whether to perform a Server With A GUI
installation or a Server Core installation. If you selected to continue
without entering a product key, you’ll next need to select the edition
of Windows Server 2012 to install as well. Although Setup will allow you
to choose any edition, it is important to choose the edition that you
purchased. If you choose the wrong edition, you will need to purchase
that edition or reinstall the correct edition.
Note
If you enter a product
key and the server edition you want to install is not listed, tap or
click the Back arrow and enter the correct product key for that server
edition. Keep in mind that you can continue without entering a product
key and this will allow you to choose any available edition. However, if
you choose the wrong edition, you will need to purchase that edition,
reinstall the correct edition, or upgrade to the correct edition.
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The license terms for Windows Server 2012 have changed from previous
releases of Windows. When prompted, review the license terms. Select the
I Accept The License Terms check box, and then tap or click Next. -
On the Which Type Of Installation Do You Want page, you need to select the type of installation you want Setup to perform. Because you are performing a clean
installation to completely replace an existing installation or
configure a new computer, select Custom (Advanced) as the installation
type. If you started Setup from the boot prompt rather than from within
Windows itself, the upgrade option is disabled. To upgrade rather than
perform a clean install, you need to restart the computer and boot the
currently installed operating system. After you log on, you then need to
start the installation. -
On the Where Do You Want To Install Windows page, you need to select
the disk or disk and partition on which you want to install the
operating system. Windows Server 2012 requires between 10 and 40 GBs of
disk space for installation. Keep the following in mind:
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When a computer has a single hard disk with a single partition
encompassing the whole disk, the whole disk partition is selected by
default and you can tap or click Next to choose this as the install
location. -
When a computer has multiple disks or a single disk with multiple
partitions, you need to either select an existing partition to use for
installing the operating system or create one. -
You might see a warning message stating “This computer’s hardware may
not support booting to this disk.” This can occur if the disk has not
been initialized for use or if the firmware of the computer does not
support starting the operating system from the selected disk. To resolve
this problem, create one or more partitions on all the hard disks that
are not initialized. -
You cannot select or format a hard-disk partition that uses FAT or
FAT32 or has other incompatible settings. To work around this issue, you
might want to convert the partition to NTFS. Because the inability to
select a disk or partition could also be due to a problem with the
drivers for the hard disk, you might need to install the device drivers
required by a hard disk. -
When working with this page, you can access a command prompt to
perform any necessary preinstallation tasks, to forcibly remove a disk
partition that is locked, or to load device drivers to support hard
disks that aren’t listed as available but should be available.
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If the partition you selected contains a previous Windows installation,
Setup provides a prompt stating that existing user and application
settings will be moved to a folder named Windows.old and that you must
copy these settings to the new installation to use them. Tap or click
OK. -
Tap or click Next. Setup starts the installation
of the operating system. During this procedure, Setup copies the full
disk image of Windows Server 2012 to the location you selected and then
expands it. Afterward, Setup installs features based on the computer’s
configuration and detected hardware. This process requires several
automatic restarts. When Setup finishes the installation, the operating
system will be loaded and you’ll see the logon screen. After you enter
and confirm a password for the administrator account, you can log on. -
Perform initial configuration tasks using Server Manager, such as setting the computer name and administrator password.
Although Windows Server 2012 provides an upgrade option during
installation, an upgrade with Windows Server 2012 might not be your best
option. Why? Not every Windows role, role service, feature, or
application can be upgraded. When you start an upgrade, Setup performs
compatibility checks to verify that all of the components and
applications installed on the computer can be upgraded. Identified
issues are shown in a compatibility report.
The compatibility report will notify you about identified problems
and might include guidance on what you need to do before upgrading the
server. If there are incompatible components and applications installed,
you should stop the upgrade and take any required, corrective actions
before continuing with the upgrade. Keep in mind that Setup might not
identify every compatibility issue and there might still be unidentified
issues that need to be resolved. Additionally, keep in mind that any
files that an application cannot locate after the upgrade process might
have been moved to the temporary storage directory
(%SystemDrive%\$WINDOWS.~Q). Because of the challenges presented with
upgrading a server, it often is more efficient to migrate services and
applications a server is hosting to other servers and then perform a
clean installation.
The steps you perform for an upgrade installation
of Windows Server 2012 are nearly identical to those you follow for a
clean installation. The key difference is that in step 10, you need to
select the installation type as Upgrade. If you started Setup from the
boot prompt rather than from within Windows itself, the upgrade option
is disabled. To upgrade rather than perform a clean install, you need to
restart the computer and boot the currently installed operating system.
After you log on, you then need to start the installation.
Because you are upgrading the operating system, you do not need to
choose an installation location. During this process, Setup copies the
full disk image of Windows Server 2012 to the system disk. Afterward,
Setup installs features based on the computer’s configuration and
detected hardware. When Setup finishes the installation, the operating
system will be loaded and you can complete the installation.
When Setup finishes the installation, the operating system will be
loaded and you’ll see the logon screen. After you log on, you can
perform initial configuration tasks.
After you install Windows Server 2012, you should configure TCP/IP networking .
If the type of licensing you are using requires product activation
after installation, you have 10 days to complete online activation. If
you don’t, the evaluation period begins and runs for 180 days. During
the evaluation period, a notification is displayed on the desktop
telling you the number of days remaining in the evaluation period (except in Windows Server 2012 Essentials). You can also run slmgr.vbs /dlv from an elevated command prompt to see the time remaining.
You have several activation options, including activating over the Internet, by telephones, and various automated activation techniques.
Activate Windows over the Internet
Although volume-licensed versions of
Windows Server 2012 might not require activation or product keys,
retail versions of Windows Server 2012 require both activation and
product keys. You can determine whether Windows Server 2012 has been
activated in Control Panel. To do this, perform the following steps:
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In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click System. -
On the System page, read the Windows Activation entry. This entry specifies whether you have activated the operating system. -
If Windows Server 2012 has not been activated and you are connected
to the Internet, select View Details In Windows Activation and then tap
or click Activate.
The computer then checks its Internet connection and attempts to
activate the operating system. If this process fails, you need to
resolve any issues that are preventing your computer from connecting to
the Internet and then tap or click Activate again.
Activate Windows by telephone
With activation over the telephone, you can go straight to product activation by performing the following steps:
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In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click System. -
If Windows Server 2012 has not been activated, select View Details In Windows Activation. -
In the Windows Activation dialog box, tap or click Show Me Other Ways
To Activate and then tap or click Use The Automated Phone System. -
Select a geographic or country/region location and then tap or click
Next to obtain a telephone number for your area. You will also get an installation
ID, which is a very long string of numbers that you will need to enter
into the automated customer service phone system. -
After you call the phone number and give the installation ID, you
will get an activation code, which is another long string of numbers
that you have to enter on the Activate Windows page before you can
continue with the activation. -
Tap or click Next and follow the prompts to complete activation.
You also can perform volume activation using Key Management Service
(KMS) or Active Directory. Both technologies use a client/server
architecture and require that you install the Volume Activation Services
role on a server running Windows Server 2012 and then use Volume
Activation Tools to enable and configure the technology.
With KMS, you use Volume Activation
Tools to install Generic Volume License Keys or KMS client product
keys, and you must specifically configure computers for KMS activation.
On the other hand, Active Directory–based activation allows you to
automatically activate computers using only their domain connection. Any
computer running Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012, whether offsite or
onsite, can be activated if the computer can join a domain. Activation
is performed automatically when a user joins the computer to the domain.
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